Discusses the targeting and reporting of commercial marketing research. The treatment of this critical stage of the research process is severely underrepresented in the academic marketing literature and in marketing research texts. Six prerequisites for effective targeting and reporting are...

Discusses how political parties in Europe, following the trend in the USA, have entered a new era of the permanent election campaign. Describes the more integrated role played by market research and how this process is changing the nature of political parties. Provides an example of such a trend...

This commentary was stimulated by two things. First, the apparently growing concerns within marketing academia with the gap between academia and practice. Throughout Europe academics are expressing the need to link their work closely with practitioners, yet there is little sign of urgency from...

Purpose – This paper shows several results obtained from the first investigation made in Spain using Dillman's total design method for mail surveys. In the spring of 1998 a survey was carried out on consumer behaviour in one particular Spanish region (Navarra). The response rate was 68.3...

Purpose – To introduce the contents of this special issue on research in marketing and comment on the development of the discipline in UK universities. Design/methodology/approach – Relates each paper to a taxonomy of academic research and comments on their content. Examines major trends in...

Purpose – The paper strives to assess the current status of research in marketing. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines statistics showing the current position of market area studies. The paper also looks at the range of supply and demand factors affecting the quality and volume...

Purpose – This paper aims to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of experimental design and development in academic marketing since 1950. Design/methodology/approach – The paper does so by taking one experimental design, Latin Square, and describing its history and development within...

Purpose – The paper presents a framework for establishing equivalence of international marketing data. The framework is meant to reduce confusion about equivalence issues, and guide the design of international studies and data analysis. Design/methodology/approach – A short overview is given...

Purpose – This paper provides a deeper examination of the fundamentals of commonly‐used techniques – such as coefficient alpha and factor analysis – in order to more strongly link the techniques used by marketing and social researchers to their underlying psychometric and statistical...

Purpose – This paper aims at interpreting the epistemology of marketing. The paper investigates several research questions, proposing some initial reflections concerning their impact on marketing. Design/methodology/approach – The paper addresses the research questions by conducting an...